Factz

Mug Shot Released: FBI Says Cult Leader in Arizona Had 20 Wives, Some Just 9 Years Old

The FBI has shared information about accused polygamist cult leader Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 46 – and it’s shocking.

According to the FBI, FLDS cult leader Bateman had 20 wives. Some were as young as 9 years old, and one was possibly his own daughter.

The FBI filed an affidavit in federal court last week that accused Bateman of transporting minors between Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Nebraska to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

He has not been charged with sexual abuse but is facing child abuse charges. He is also facing charges of tampering with evidence and attempting to destroy records after he was stopped on a highway and police discovered young girls inside an enclosed trailer.

When police opened the unventilated trailer, they found three girls between 11 and 14 inside with a makeshift toilet, couch, and camping chairs.

Bateman has said that the “Heavenly Father” ordered him to “give the most precious thing he has, his girls’ virtue” to his male followers. One of those girls – was just 12 years old.